14 May 2012

Fun Times and Vomitous

When I was growing up, we would visit my mother's friends BJ and Bob. We lived near the shore and they lived in northwest New Jersey. My mother had known BJ since nursing school, and we became close with her blended brood of seven children. There was always something happening at BJ and Bob's house, a party or Sunday barbecue, and they had an open-door policy. If you were around, you were invited.

When the Captain and I were shopping for our first house, we settled on the town next to BJ and Bob's. BJ was our realtor, and when we moved in, Bob, a woodworker, made us a lovely armoire. We visited them during the holidays and for Sunday dinners, and their brand of festive chaos was an inspiration. I have always wanted my home to be like theirs--open, inviting, fun, filled with food and laughter. I think we hit the mark this weekend.

Thursday night we attended Three's middle-school production of "Little Shop of Horrors." Friday night we watched my nieces and nephew so my brother and sister-in-law could do the same. The next day we all got together again for Five's first Holy Communion, were joined by more family for the party afterward, and followed that up with a giant sleep-over so we could be together for Mother's Day! Both matriarchs are currently in residence, so we hosted breakfast for both sides of the family. As you may recall, my brother is married to the Captain's sister, which cuts down on holiday drive-time for them.

The cousins had lots of quality time together and the adults lolled about, eating, napping, and talking on the deck, soaking up the sun. Six and Seven (my adopted children) joined us at the end of the day for some intense Rummikub matches, and we forced ourselves to eat the remaining ice cream cake. It was a lovely day.

At four-thirty this morning I was reminded of how I earn those special days when Five came in and vomited. He laid on the bathroom floor with his head in my lap, and I rubbed his back until he felt well enough to climb in my bed. At that point, the Captain's alarm was ringing, so I never went back to sleep. Four had been complaining of a sore throat at bedtime and couldn't swallow this morning, so he stayed home from school as well. One was such a congested mess last night, I had already decided to let him sleep in, so three-fifths of the pack are now sprawled about on various couches, nibbling on saltines and ice pops.

I think we have fully achieved the BJ and Bob vibe, because there is always something happening here at Casa de Penii. As always, I hope your weekend was filled with more fun than vomit. Do tell!

I was going to explain that we have the largest house and the in-laws, so we're the default party house. But then I remembered that I've hosted Thanksgiving in my tiny houses as well, and a wake when I set up tables in my garage, so I think I've brought this on myself.

I had eight college students and another faculty member over to my house yesterday afternoon for a meeting and a meal. Happily, I only had to clean, and the other professor cooked. It made for a full weekend (grading, cleaning, visiting with my mother and grandmother, AND this event), but it was a good one.

Sorry that your home has turned into a vomitorium. Hope everyone is feeling a little bit better. My mothers day was nice. I was alone except for phone calls. It hit 107 in the Cali desert yesterday, and again today, so I told the kids to forget about the almost three hour drive and just enjoy their Sunday. Then I put on a pair of old shorts and a tank top, cranked up the AC, and opened a brand new book. Then I had pizza for dinner. A great day.

Yes, yesterday as I was mentally grousing about being alone again on Mother's Day (and by alone, I mean with my children who are too young to care for themselves whilst I read and/or bask in compliments and praise), I reminded myself I could be doing what I did last year. And last year, I had to clean up vomit from a car seat in the middle of a five hour drive. So yeah....even though it was just like every other day here at our house, I appreciated the fact that there was no "up" to our bodily fluids yesterday.

I am not always gracious. I abhor the "drop by," and don't like entire crowds of teenagers sleeping in my rec room. Also, after observing my elevated stress levels from hosting Thanksgiving for so many years, the Captain has requested a new venue for this year. But I do enjoy when it all comes together!

Oh, I also love to be the house where everyone comes. The problem is that I'm not the greatest cook, so I tend to just buy masses of food at Costco. So no one goes hungry, but if anyone else is offering to cook at their house, most people would rather go somewhere else. We had 14 here for Cinco de Mayo. It was great, I loved it. The food was average. That's why I love to have a house full of teenagers. They'll eat anything and show undying gratitude.